The Abominable Dr Phibes (1971) & Dr Phibes Rises Again (1972)(Review)

Arrow films resume their retrospective of the finest titles from Vincent Price’s filmography with a double bill of Robert Fuest’s Doctor Phibes films – the Abominable Dr Phibes and Dr Phibes rises again. Before moving onto the films themselves the matter of the bundle is in question. What little extras are confined to interviews and commentaries, the sole standout is an affectionate discussion from the League of Gentlemen whereby Fuest’s films are discussed from a much more personal level than the cold academics adopted elsewhere.

The Abominable Dr Phibes has an influence that can be seen as far as Sam Raimi’s Darkman and Saw. The titular Dr Phibes sees Vincent Price appear as a prodigious musician and purveyor of the clockwork who falls victim to tragedy. There are complications with his wife’s pregnancy that see her dying on the operating table, in a maddened rush to get to his wife’s side Dr Phibes has a near-fatal accident that costs him his face and voice. With such a complete loss, Phibes commits himself to bloody revenge on the nine doctors he considers responsible for his wife’s death. Baring the greatest responsibility is Dr Vesalius (Joseph Cotton), who Phibes has saved the most audacious of revenge schemes for.

Directed by Robert Fuest, a principal force behind TV’s The Avengers, both films have an idiosyncratic 1970s British feel. Even if the murders span the divide between grotesque and over-staged parallels of the Crystal Maze, there is a welcome unpretentiousness to the material. Whether unbolting a body from a wall after being pierced by the screw-like horn of a unicorn statue or the general incompetence of the police investigation it breathes life into the (even then) tired revenge motif. Indeed the comedy doesn’t always work, with some broad attempts to trivialize the police become a little over-zealous over the 90-minute run. The most ingenious humour is jet black, with the mute Phibes and his mysterious assistant Vulnavia (Virginia North) camply murdering their way through [1920’s] London’s medical society.

By both script and design, the Abominable Dr Phibes is a fun film. With his orchestra of clockwork Frank Sidebottom’s, Dr Phibes hideouts complete with the gaudy neon organ is an art-deco anachronism but an undeniably wonderful one. On the other side of the design are the set-pieces which see Phibes and Vulnavia turn biblical plagues into 20th-century modes of murder. The eccentricity is expertly played off the super-conservatism of 1920’s England, a contrast that not only makes this a joyously inexplicable and distinctive film but an absolute blast for any fan of classic horror. A form that isn’t continued in the sequel, still the sheer invention of the abominable Dr Phibes is a highlight of early 70s horror.

Released a year later in 1972 – Dr Phibes rises again, and from the get-go, it lacks the spark of its predecessor. Dr Phibes is the same creation; it is still Vincent Price horrible maimed and wearing an ashen “mask”, talking through a mechanical vocoder injected into his neck. The art-deco design is still present and still serves as a brilliantly unique identifier for the series, but still, it’s lacking. The reason for this is the context.

Dr Anton Phibes had his revenge, now in the sequel, he is attempting to tap into the Egyptians understanding of the afterlife to recover his dear Victoria. Even if Phibes loses himself to revenge, his plight in the first feature was justifiable in his crazed state and the invention he adopted in his murders made sense. Likewise, his poetic dialogue was endearing. That same dialogue feels more hackneyed and his murderous rampage doesn’t really make sense within the film’s narrative. There is no revenge, one or two of the kills make sense, the rest is just a transparent effort to recreate previous successes without sufficient backing. While much more graphic, the instruments of murder are far too high concept to comply with any logic. Previously Phibes had been planning and scheming for years, here he is improvising, reacting as developments surprise him – the modes of murdering he uses don’t comply with this hurried rationale.

The Abominable Dr Phibes begged questions of suspension of disbelief, but Fuest, Price and co. succeeded at presenting a charming feature that papered over the cracks. Dr Phibes rises again feels like a contractual obligation to recapture past glories. Dr Anton Phibes deserves to be held up in the pantheon of truly great horror villains and as a consequence of such severely diminishing returns, he becomes a mere footnote. Nonetheless, the original film is more than worth a place in any horror fans collection, and the sequel being more of the same only lesser, well, there are far worse fates available to any would-be horror sequel.

Thanks for reading our review of The Abominable Dr Phibes and Dr Phibes Rises Again

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